The Nationals WA Candidate for Durack Lisa Cole has called out Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop for her soft approach to securing a fairer share of GST revenue for WA.

“Contrary to Ms Bishop’s comments at the weekend, it is the role of West Australian elected representatives to put the interests of their constituency before their personal political aspirations as Minister,” Ms Cole said.

“WA’s federal Liberal team should be pulling every lever available to them in order to deliver the best possible outcomes in their own state to secure a fair share of the GST back to WA and they have clearly failed to do this.

Ms Cole said while WA’s share of GST revenue had plummeted over the past several years to a record low of 30 per cent, New South Wales would be virtually debt free by the end of the financial year largely as a result of the generous share of GST revenue it received.

“NSW received 97 cents in the dollar last financial year and is now in a position to pay down their debt, yet here in WA we are seeing unforeseen record debt levels due to an unfair distribution of GST,” Ms Cole said.

“At present we have a system which penalises economic success and rewards mediocrity. The current distribution formula set by the Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) is clearly flawed and must be fixed.

“If other State’s wish to share WA’s success during the good times, they must also share in the more challenging times, reforming the structure of our Federation will be key to achieving this.”

The Nationals WA team is encouraging West Australians to use the #fixourfederation hashtag online to send a strong message to Canberra.

“By using the hashtag #fixourfederation everyday West Australians will send a loud and clear message to our federal politicians that WA won’t continue to be ripped off on GST.”

Ms Cole said West Australians had an opportunity to send Canberra a message on July 2 by voting for The Nationals WA.

“While The Nationals WA are prepared to cross the floor to ensure WA is a priority in Canberra, the Liberal Party will toe a party line set by their colleagues in the eastern states,” Ms Cole said.